Coin-controlled actuating mechanism



Aug. 28, 1951 c. H. WEAVER COIN-CONTROLLED ACTUATING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 3, 1948 INVENTOR. (mu 1% Way! BY K g 1951 c. H. WEAVER 2,566,269

COIN-CONTROLLED ACTUATING MECHANISM Filed April 5, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

an: M Wm I WW Aug. 28, 1951 c. H. WEAVER COIN-CONTROLLED ACTUATING' MECHANISM.

4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 5, 1948 INVENTOR.

(mu/$6 MAYER m M Aug-28, 1951 c. H. WEAVER 7 2,566,269

COIN-CONTROLLED ACTUATING MECHANISM Fild Ap riI 3, 1948 4 shee'seshet 4 INVENTOR.

an: )5 Warm Patented Aug. 28,. 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,566,269 com-coariioLLEn ACTUATING MECHANISM Clark H. weaver, Berkeley, Calif. Applicationlabriis, 1948, "Sei-ial No. 16316 4 'Claims, (Cl. 194-'92) The present invention relates to coin-controlled actuating'mechanisms of the type'employed'to operate the'release mechanism of vendingj'm'achines to individually dispense the'articles stored II in the magazines thereof. "Such actuating m'ech- In prachave one and the same machine vendboth," the I Sunday as well as the week days editions of newspapers, to avoid the necessity of using different machines on week days and on Sundays.

Broadly it is an object of the present invention to furnish a manually operable coin=contro1led actuating mechanism for vending machines' an'd the like which is simple in constructionand effective in operation.

More specifically it is anobject of the' present invention to provide a coin-controlledactuatin mechanism for vending machines which *may selectively be adjusted for operation with anyone of a plurality of diiferent coins.

I I It is yet another object of the presentinvention to furnish a coin-controlled actuating mechanism of the type referred to,'that mayselectively be adjusted to positions requiring I either aselected one or all of a plurality of "difierent coins tobe rendered operative. I

Additionally it is an object of the present in vention to furnish an actuating mechanism, of the type referred to, which may selectively "be adjusted to positions wherein (1) only"a selcted one of two coins or (2) either ofj'said coins or (3) only a combination of both is capable of rendering said mechanism operative. I

Furthermore it is an object of the presentinvention to provide an arrangement adapted to convert uni-directionalactuating strokes, such as are provided by coin-controlled actuatin "actuation.

filetsf i2 may'be'arrange'djalon' the-pi1ter'vertical edges of the wall I I inspacedrelat' be apparent from the following Fdescript'ion [of the accompanying drawings; which illustrate "a preferred embodiment thereof, and-wherein; I

Figure l is a rear 'elevation'of acoin controlled actuating mechanism embodying my invention,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevation offtlie same mechanism viewed in the direction of the arrows 22 in Figure 1, I I I II Figure 3 is'an oppositeside elevation 'of the actual coin-controlled unit viewed in the direction-oi'the arrows '3- 3 in"Figure "1, I I

Figure'4 is'an enlarged; detail viewof p'artfof the latching 'mechanism employed in the coincontrol unit,

Figure 5 is aside elevation oftlie' coin-control unit shown in a manner similar to Figure 2 but in a different operational position,

Figure 6 is another'sideelvation or the coincontrol unit, shown in amannersimilar' to Fi ure 2, but inyet another operational po'sitio'n' and with its outer wall andpart of theassociated lever mechanism omitted to expose the str'ucture underneath, I

"Figure 7 is a horizontahsection 'of the coincontrol unit viewed in the direction bf'the arrows 'i-l in Figures 1 and 2,

Figure 8 'is a vertical cross'-'-section through the coin control unit taken along th'e line 8- 8 'inFigure 2,

Figures 9 and 10 are fragmentary side elevations, similar to Figure 6,of'-a=mcdified-embodinent of the'coin-control unit in different-operastationary wall I I that may form partof. or may berigidlysecured to, the front prside wall of a newspa er vending machine. To properly giuide the plate ii! in its actuating movement, suitable t o' to form fgui'de grooves I3 as 'best I' F gure'v. 'lfheslidingplate f0 ea rie iancij trdly directed stud [5 (Figures am?) e s through an elongated "vertical I ed'inth'ewall ll rrigureirgjj j I I I ope I lu o (not show mounted pon lie outwardly projecting end thereof, I A con These "and oth er objects of iii-anemia am 5 *sprir'ig IStensiOned' between" the uppefen d of the 3 slide I9 and a point I9 of the stationary wall yieldably maintains said slide in the upward position illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, where in its stud abuts the upper end of the elongated vertical slot l6.

Means are provided which ordinarily prevent depression of the actuating slide ID from said upward position, and for this purpose said slide carries a pair of brackets and 2| which support a horizontal shaft 22 upon which are rotatably mounted two parallel bell crank levers 23 and 24. Both of said bell crank levers possess upwardly directed elongated arms 25 and 26 respcctively the upper ends of which are provided with inwardly directed studs 21 and 28 respectively as best shown in Figure 8. These studs protrude into and slidably engage two vertical slots 29 and 30 respectively formed in opposite faces BI and 32 of a latching unit 33 disposed intermediately of said lever arms 25 and 26 and rigidly supported from the stationary wall (Figures 1, 2, 3, '7 and 8).

At their upper ends both of the slots 29 and 30 are expanded to form recesses 34 or 35 respectively which are shaped somewhat in the manner of a uni-lateral barb having an inwardly declined bottom edge a and a lateral edge b ascending obliquely to the crest of its respective slot, as best shown in Figure 4. Both of said recesses 34 and 35 extend in the same direction which is to the left as viewed in Figure 2 and to the right as viewed in Figure 3. Contraction springs 36 tensioned between suitable points of the bracket structure 20, 2| and the tails 38 of the bell cranks 23 and 24 constantly urge the studs 21 and 28 in the direction of the recesses 34 and 35 respectively, but when the slide I0 is in its uppermost position the oblique edges b of said notches maintain said studs in vertical alignment with the slots 29 and 30 respectively as shown in Figures 2 and 3. As soon as the slide I0 is depressed, however, the springs 36 urge the studs 21 and 23 into the recesses 34 and 35 wherein they hook over the edges a and thus positively prevent further downward movement of said slides as illustrated in Figure 5.

The unit 33 comprises means effective, upon payment of the proper coinage, to prevent engagement of the studs 21, 28 with the horizontal edges a of the recesses 34 and 35 and thus permit a full actuating stroke of the slide H). For this purpose the slots 29 and 30 are associated with coin channels 40 and 4| respectively (Figures 2, 3 and 7) which are adapted to conduct coins inserted therein into positions in which they cover the recesses 34 and 35 and thus block entrance of the studs 21 and 28. Since both the channels 40 and 4| are of practically identical construction, except for their physical dimensions which differ according to the dimensions of the coins for which they are designed, only the coin channel 40 will be described in detail hereinafter, it being understood that the same description applies logically to the twin channel 4|.

Having specific reference to Figure 2 the channel 40 commences with a coin slot 42 which is preferably situated at a point exteriorly of the machine wall some distance above the previously described operating stud |5 of the actuating slide H). The initial portion of the channel 40 is. only slightly inclined and extends to a point above and somewhat beyond the slot 29 where it changes abruptly into an almost vertically descending passage 43, At about the level of the recess 34 this passage 43 forms a short but pronounced kink 44 which extends toward and beyond the slot 29 in such a manner that its concave portion passes directly behind, and communicates freely with, the upper portion of said slot including its recess 34, as shown in Figures 2, 5 and 6.

The concave portion of the passage 43 communicates also with a laterally adjacent chamber 45 provided in the interior of the unit 33 which accommodates a spring pawl 45 that is pivoted to the walls of said unit at a point 41 above the recess 34. This pawl is composed of a substantially horizontal tall 48 and a substantially vertical arm 49 which has a concave recess 50 in its clockwise edge and terminates into an elongated blade-like extension 5| as shown in Figures 2, 5 and 6. A spring 52 disposed between said tail 48 and a stationary point of the unit 33 urges said pawl into a clockwise position in which its blade 5| bears against the partition 53 between the lower portions of the coin passage 43 and the slot 29 while its recess 50 forms the concave wall of kink 44 in said passage 43 as shown in Figures 2 and 5.

The lower corner of the concave recess 50 is somewhat accentuated to form a shoulder 54 which restricts the coin passage 43, when the pawl 46 is in its above described clockwise position, and as a result thereof a coin of proper size dropped into the channel 40 will be retained between the shoulder 54 and the hump 55 in the opposite wall of the passage 43 and will assume the position illustrated in phantom lines in Figure 6 in which it covers the recess 34. This renders it impossible for the stud 21 to enter into, and engage the edge a of, the recess 34 and as a result thereof said stud is guided into the open vertical portion of the slot 29 when the slide I0 is depressed, permitting a full downward stroke of said slide (provided the mechanism associated with the twin channel 4| is in the same condition). As the stud 21 enters into, and descends, the vertical portion of the slot 29, it strikes against the upper edge of the shoulder 54 and cams the pawl 46 in counterclockwise direction as shown in full lines in Figure 6. Thus, the obstructing point of the shoulder 54 is withdrawn from the passage 43 permitting the coin to slide to the bottom of the coin channel 40 from where it may drop into a detachable coin collector magazine 51 indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2.

As soon as the customer releases the operating handle of the slide H], the restore spring l8 returns said slide to its original level and thus repositions the lug 21 in the crest of the slot 29, permitting the spring 52 to restore the pawl 46 to its clockwise position in which its shoulder 54 extends across the slot 29 and restricts the width of the coin passage 43 as shown in Figures 2 and 5. Thus, the actuating mechanism of the invention is again in its normal condition in which it is locked against operation until a new coin has been inserted into the chamiel 40. It is important that the length of the blade 5| of pawl 46 be properly proportioned with respect to the depth to which the slide I0 may be depressed as determined by the depth of the elongated slot IS in the machine wall II; that is to say: said blade must be sufficiently long to remain in contact with the stud 21 when the latter is fully depressed, otherwise the pawl 46 might resume its clockwise position above the stud 21 before said stud has returned to its upward position, and thus prevent return of said stud to the crest of theslot 29resultingi'n complete disruption of the described control mechawhile the channel ll may be adapted for operation with a .lO-cent coin. In such a case aprospective buyer must insert a nickel into the channel 49 and a dime into the adjacently situated channel 4! before the slide I can be fully depressed to release one of the articles contained .in the magazine of the associated vendingmachine. present invention, however, provides means to selectively adjust thedescribed arrangement to conditions where only, one orthe other of said coins is required to. render. the.actua-ting mechanism operative. For thispurposea lever to is pivoted to the wall 3|. of the vlockingunit 33 with one of its ends arranged toproject laterally beyond said unit to form a conveniently accessible setting handle 8] (Figures 2 and 7) while its other end 62 isadapted to cover the recess 34. Hence by turning the lever .60 from theposition shown in full lines in Figure 2 to a position in which it covers the recess ,34, the, latching arrangement 21/34 may be disabled inthe .same manner as if a nickel were lodged between the shoulder 54 of the pawl 46; andv the hump 55 in the opposite wall of the passageAS, and. as a result thereof payment of, only. a dime into. the channel ii is sufficient totrelease theactuating slide it for effective operation. A similartlever 6d (Figures 3 and '7) may be arranged at theopposite face 32 of the unitl33 permitting the other latching arrangement 23/35 to bedisabled at will, to establish conditions. wherein. onlya nickel. is

required to release the actuating mechanism for A ei fective operation.

Under certainconditions itimayebe desirable to adjust the locking unit 33 insuchamanner that either a nickel or a dimewillbe. effective to release the actuating slide it! fOroperation. For instance, the price of a newspaper may actually be a nickel, but customers who .findthemselves without the proper change may rather spend a dime than go without a paper. .To enable thearrangernent of my invention to take care of situations of this kind, the bell,,cranks..,23,-24.may possess downwardly extending arms 65, (Figures 2, 3 and 8) which are provided withhorizontally aligned apertures it adapted..to.removab-ly. receive a bar or rod 57. Whenthepbarlli'l is pushed through said apertures, asindicated in phantom lines in Figure 8, the bell cranks 23, 24 form an integral structure and turn in unison upon their common shaft 22. Hence, the presence of a coin in the kink l of either the coin channel Ali or a selectively be fitted with any one of a va fled to take care of such situations as demon 's'trated'byiFi'gures 9' and 10 which'illustrate'a' coin control unit 33' that is adapted to release the actuating mechanism upon payment of three l coins. '-In this modified coin-control unit the descending branch 43 of the coin'ch'annelilfl drops "vertically to a point a predetermined distance below the level of the latching recess '34 where it forms'an inwardly directed hump 55 of limited. altitude. The control pawl 46' is simil ar'in 'sha'pe and construction to the pawl 46 "of the embodi'ment illustrated in Figures 2, 5' and'fi,

except that its blade 5| is materially extended 'in downward direc'tion to a point below the level of theh'ump 55', and thus forms the main-part of the 'front wall 'of the passage 43 in place (if the"partition 53' which has been reduced in size -toan"extentwhere'it is'sc'arcely more than a stop determining the extreme clockwise position of -the blade 5|. Furthermore, the shoulderffid of the pawl '46-, though still extending across (or'at least into) the slot 29, is less pronounced'so that it no longer restricts the passage d3 'and'is of a smoothly rounded contour so that a coin fdr' fp'ped intothe'channeldll is dependably'guided into the lower portion of said passage' lt where the coin channel 49, the uppermost coin cams the latching stud 21 past the recessS l into'the vertical portion of the slot 29 and against the uppered ge' of'the shoulder 54. As a result thereof the descending stud'2l forces the spring pawl 46 in counterclockwise direction so that the blade 5! to the right of the coins is withdrawn and said coinsare permitted to slide or roll over the hump 55', as shown in Figure 10, and drop into acoin collectorbox that may be provided at the bottom end of the passage '43 (not shown).

While the hump 55 in the embodiment illustrated' inFigures 9 and 10 is positioned such a distance below thelatching recessed that three of different rear Walls in which the hump 5 are positioned at different altitudesdcpending upon the number of coins intended to render the actuating mechanism efiective.

While the actuating mechanism so far de scribed provides positive actuation in one direction only, corresponding to downward movement of the slide l0, certain vending machines, such as 'theone disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 731,526 filed on February 23,1947, now Patent 2,5i6,352,issued March2'7, 1951, req'iiire reciprocative actuation tofsuccessively release the articles stored in their magazines. The 'presentinvention, therefore, may comprise means for converting the uni-directional actuation supplied by successive downward strokes of the slide l into alternately oppositely directed actuating strokes. For this purpose a lever H is pivoted to the slide ID at 12 and is yieldably maintained in a vertical position by a contraction spring 13, tensioned between its upper end and a suitable stud 15 secured to the slide In at a point vertically above said upper end as shown in Figure 1. The lower end 16 of the lever 1| projects beyond the lower edge of the slide I0, and pivoted to the stationary wall H at a point 11 vertically below said pivot 12 is a lever 18 having somewhat the shape of a downwardly pointing deltoid the shallow end of which is formed by two symmetrically shaped concave edges 19 and 80 descending laterally from a centrally positioned common point or peak 8|. A contraction spring 82 disposed between the downwardly directed crest 83 of the deltoid l8 and a stationary point 84 intermediately of, and in vertical alignment with, the pivots l2 and i1 urges the deltoid 18 into contact with one or the other of a pair of stops 86 and 81 disposed at either flank of said deltoid predetermined equal distances apart from a center line xx determined by the pivot points of the levers H and 18. Thus, the deltoid 18 presents one or the other of its concave edges 19, 80 to the end 16 of the lever H as shown in Figure 1, wherein the right flank 8B of said deltoid is held against the right hand stop 86 with its crest 83 situated to the right of the center line :cx. In this position the deltoid l8 presents the right one of its concave edges to the end 16 of the lever H, and whenever the slide I0 is pressed, the descending point 16 of the lever ll strikes against the steeply sloping inner portion of said concave edge and is immediately deflected toward the outer end thereof, until it strikes fully against the pit of said concave edge to the right of the center line a:-x (Figure 11) and thus imparts a rotary momentum to the deltoid l8 swinging it in clockwise direction against the urgency of the contraction spring 82. As the slide i0 continues its descent, the crest 83 of the deltoid 18 is eventually pushed beyond its point of maximum distance from point 84, as represented by the center line .r.r, permitting spring 82 to contract and force the deltoid 18 further in clockwise direction until its left hand flank 89 strikes against the left stop 81. The deltoid 18 is now in a position which is the symmetrical counterpart of its original position, with its crest 83 situated an identical distance to the left of the center line :ca: as shown in phantom lines in Figure 11. In this position the deltoid 18 presents the left one of its concave edges to the point 75 or" the lever II that has meanwhile returned to its original position under the influence of the restore springs I8 and I3. Renewed depression of the actuating slide will repeat the described performance in a symmetrically opposite direction and will re-position the crest of the deltoid T8 to the right of the center line a::c. Thus, successive depressions of the slide reciprocate the crest 83 of the deltoid 18 between the extreme left and right hand positions illustrated in Figures 1 and 11, and will thus enable a horizontal bar 90 pivoted to the crest of the deltoid 8 to provide positive reciprocative actuation.

While I have explained my invention with the aid of a preferred embodiment thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the constructional details shown and described, because other embodiments based on the same principles and combining the same dependability of performance with simplicity of construction may readily be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of my invention. Thus, if it should be desirable to have a greater choice of adjustments to difierent coins or combinations thereof, it is only necessary to extend the coin control arrangement by installing additional coin channels and associated control mechanisms at one or both sides of the unit 33 and provide a corresponding number of properly correlated bell cranks upon the shaft 22.

Having thus described my invention and the manner in which it is to be performed, what I claim is:

'1. A coin-controlled actuating mechanism comprising an actuating member constrained to move in vertical direction, and yieldably held in an upward position, an arm pivotally supported from said actuating member, said arm having a latching projection, a vertical guide surface,

spring means disposed to urge said projection against said guide surface, said surface having a recess forming a latching edge and an obliquely ascending cumming edge, a descending coin channel in communication with said recess and a yieldable pawl arranged to protrude into the path of said projection at a point below said recess and restrict said channel to retain coins dropped thereinto in a position wherein the cover said recess preventing engagement thereof by said projection and direct said projection against said yieldable pawl.

2. Arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said recess is located at the upper end of said guide surface.

3. A coin-controlled actuating mechanism comprising a descending coin channel having a pair of end walls and a pair of side walls, an aperture provided in one of said side walls; an actuating member arranged to move along a preestablished path and having a latching element adapted to engage said aperture at a predetermined point of said path to obstruct further movement of said actuating member; and retaining means disposed in said channel a distance below said aperture to enable the uppermost one of a predetermined number of coins to cover said aperture and prevent engagement thereof by said latching element, said retaining means comprising an inwardly directed hump provided on one of said end walls and a yieldable pawl disposed to form the opposite end wall of said channel at the level of said hump; said actuating member being arranged to force said yieldable pawl away from said channel upon movement beyond said predetermined point.

4. Arrangement according to claim 3 wherein the end wall possessing said retaining hump is an exchangeable component.

CLARK H. WEAVER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 216,425 Love June 10, 1879 707,705 Lockwood Aug. 26, 1902 970,280 Vandiver Sept. 13, 1910 1,077,517 Fey Nov. 4, 1913 1,873,755 Gibson Aug. 23, 1932 2,247,888 Neiding July 1, 1941 

